Las Vegas Sands Q2 Profit Down - Update

(RTTNews) - Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), Monday said its second-quarter profit dropped from last year, hurt largely by continued challenging environment in the high-end gambling business in Macao, China. Earnings for the quarter fell short of Wall Street expectations, as did revenues.

Second-quarter profit dropped to $327.97 million or $0.41 per share from $469.17 million or $0.59 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings decreased to $411.3 million or $0.52 per share from $481.5 million or $0.60 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.56 per share.

Revenues for the quarter fell 9.3 percent to $2.65 billion from $2.92 billion in the prior year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $2.76 billion for the quarter.

CEO Sheldon Adelson said, "The operating environment in Macao remained challenging during the quarter; but we do see signs of stabilization, particularly in the mass market."

Revenues for Sands China decreased 16.4 percent to $1.48 billion from $1.77 billion a year ago.

Macau, the only part of China where gambling is legal. Few years ago, casinos and gambling were booming there, however, now the gambling environment has changed and gambling revenues have dropped drastically hurt largely by an anti-corruption drive in China, that has forced high rollers to cut back on gambling.

LVS closed Thursday's trading at $47.80, up $0.48 or 1.01%, on the NYSE. The stock further rose $1.80 or 3.77% in the after-hours trade.